


The Omnipotence Sickness

by solohux



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Creepy, Established Relationship, Force-Sensitive Armitage Hux, Hurt Armitage Hux, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Possession, Power Dynamics, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Protective Kylo Ren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23691034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solohux/pseuds/solohux
Summary: Something is wrong with Armitage Hux. He seems to have become Force sensitive overnight, and Kylo doesn’t know how or why.But the more that Hux uses his powers, the weaker he becomes, though Hux seems blind to his own deterioration. Can Kylo save him in time before he's truly lost to the darkness of his newfound powers?
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 60
Kudos: 223





	1. Symptoms

**Author's Note:**

  * For [emeraldorbs89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldorbs89/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the lovely [@heyitsemeraldorbs](http://http://heyitsemeraldorbs.tumblr.com/) ❤️. I hope you enjoy, darling! Thank you so much for your support! I really, really hope you like this. ❤️ You're a star!
> 
> To everyone else, hope you enjoy this fic! Let the angst commence! This fic takes place before TFA and diverges from the canon timeline. Here, Hux and Kylo are already in a relationship, the map to Skywalker has not yet been found and Snoke still rules the First Order.

At first, Kylo was intrigued.

In all of his studying of both light _and_ dark side occurrences, he’s never heard of a Force-null becoming sensitive overnight, certainly not a Null as barren in the power of the Force as Armitage Hux. On more than one occasion, Kylo has joked to Hux that there are _droids_ on the ship who are more adept at using the Force than he is, that the caf maker in his kitchen has a better chance of reading his mind than Hux has, and the bemused General had simply rolled his eyes and made a snide comment about what a farce the Force is anyway before kissing Kylo goodnight and that was the end.

But things begin to change, albeit slowly but Kylo still notices—as any lover would. Small comments about the Force, fleeting thoughts about power and death, a vision of black goo against a stark white background; Kylo sees it all. Hux has become more like a maniacal version of himself, as though his acute sense of greed and need for power are amplified until he’s thirsting for a rebel’s spilled blood or grinning like a deranged nexu whilst he punishes a subordinate for the most minor of mistakes in front of his crew on the bridge.

Currently, the deck of the _Finalizer_ witnesses that very scene.

“P-please, General— _gggkk!”_

The lieutenant chokes, fighting for air against the invisible hand that wraps itself tightly around his throat, a grip so strong that it’s able to lift the struggling man from the ground until the tips of his polished boots scuff against the floor.

“The time for respite is over, Lieutenant,” Hux smiles, so unlike himself. Whilst his proud and tall stance remains characteristic, seeing him with his hand outstretched and his fingers spread like that of a dark sider’s threat is so unnatural that some of the bridge crew turn away in horror. The General brings his fingers together in a tight fist, crushing the man’s windpipe completely. “There is no more room for mistakes—and let that be a lesson to _all_.”

The body drops to the floor as Hux releases him, just as Kylo charges onto the bridge after feeling such a disturbance in the Force, one so dark and desperate that, for a moment, he thought Hux was dying and the Force was crying for Kylo’s loss, grieving for the soul who has finally found love and belonging in another. But when Kylo reaches the bridge, he finds that Hux is very much alive—though has never looked more like death. His usually pale-pallor is almost grey-looking, so sallow and ashen that he wouldn’t look out of place in a morgue.

“ _Hux,_ ” Kylo steps around the unmoving body of Hux’s lieutenant, studying his lover’s body and trying to read him through the Force but can’t, finding that the very same black goo from his visions is dripping into every crevice of Hux’s once-tamed and familiar mind. Kylo bites his lip, afraid. “Come with me.”

Kylo doesn’t give Hux a chance to respond, _ordering_ him, and silently relieved when he hears the familiar heel-click of Hux’s boots following behind him all the way to Hux’s own chambers—they’re closer to the bridge than Kylo’s.

When inside, Kylo locks the door behind them and tries to remain composed and calm in the face of the complete unknown.

“What happened?” But Hux doesn’t seem to take any notice of Kylo’s question. Instead, he bends down and reaches his fingers out to Millicent, beckoning her to him.

“Come on, darling,” Hux whispers softly. “Come to daddy.”

But the ginger cat doesn’t move. Kylo frowns; he certainly doesn’t claim to be an expert in feline behaviour but he can sense Millie’s discomfort and her disquiet. Her tail is raised and bristled, her ears flatten to her head but seems to arch her back, reminding Kylo of the posture of one of his Knights before launching to fight. The cat is almost frozen to the spot, so unlike her usual chatty and mischievous self.

And then she makes a sound that Kylo has _never_ heard her make before. Usually, she rushes to Hux whenever he comes home, winding herself around his ankles and purring until he strokes her or gives her food before scurrying off to take pride of place on his bed to wait for him to come to sleep so she can snuggle next to him. But now, as Hux comes close to her, Millicent _hisses_ at him— _loudly—_ making her agitation known to him before she bolts of to hide underneath the bed.

“Silly thing,” Hux laughs, standing up and fixing his gloves.

“She never denies your attention,” Kylo points out, his gaze locked on Hux like he’s an untrustworthy stranger. Suddenly, he feels like he wants to join Millicent in hiding under the bed.

Hux turns to his table of drinks, picking up a bottle of whiskey to pour himself a generous glass, “She must be ill.”

“One of you is definitely that.”

“Excuse me, Ren?” Hux whips around, angry.

“There’s something wrong with you.”

Hux smiles, taking a sip of his drink, “Or something _right._ ”

“No,” Kylo steps forward, taking the tumbler from Hux’s hand and putting it down. “No one gets powers like this so quickly, Hux. Even latent Force sensitivity manifests over years. You were Force-null two days ago.”

“And now I’m not. What can I say? I always knew that I was meant for more.”

“I thought it was because of me,” Kylo glances down, biting his lip. “I thought my powers were rubbing off on you, making you like this but it isn’t. This is something else. And I don’t know _what._ ”

“You’re overthinking, my darling. I’m fine,” Hux cups Kylo’s cheek but the gesture feels empty. Only now, standing so close to Hux does Kylo see that the sparkle is fading from Hux’s shining green eyes, dulling and diminishing into a—into a sickly yellow colour.

“Armitage.” Kylo takes hold of Hux’s wrist, bringing his knuckles up to his lips to kiss. “Let me help you.”

“There’s nothing wrong with me, Ren. My powers—they’re a gift. Can’t you see? We can kill Snoke now, the two of us. He couldn’t stop _two_ of us.”

“At what cost, Hux? Even _if_ your powers are sent to help us, you can’t control them yet.”

“Can’t control them?” Hux shakes out of Kylo’s hold and steps back, laughing as he hurls his collection of whiskies from the table and onto the floor, sending them all to their doom. Instinctively, Kylo reaches out with the Force to stop them but finds that he can’t. Something is already holding onto them.

Hux’s powers have saved them _all,_ holding each bottle only inches from shattering on the ground, and he isn’t even struggling.

“If you’re not with me,” Hux _growls._ “Then you’re against me.”

Kylo looks from the bottles and up into his lover’s eyes, terrified by the yellowness of them but can’t find it in his heart to rebel.

“I’m with you, Hux. Always. You know that.”

Hux smirks, returning the bottles to their home on the table. “Right answer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt this story would be more entertaining and gripping if it were split into parts, so here we are! I'd love to know what you think! What's wrong with Hux? What plagues him, if anything? Can Kylo help? Uh oh! ❤️
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	2. Diagnosis

The coming days are uncertain. The _Finalizer_ rests in unclaimed space, re-fulling and waiting for instructions from the Supreme Leader before deploying on another mission, but Kylo remains distracted with the problems surrounding Hux. Or rather, the _darkness_ that is _engulfing_ Hux.

These dark days bring an unease to the air around the First Order’s flagship as officers can only watch whilst their General becomes a foul leader, a merciless punisher to his own people. Two more of his subordinates feel the wrath of his Force-choke on the bridge whilst a rageful yell in an ensign’s face shatters the four nearest consoles to him, sending sparks flying and smashing their glass screens into pieces. When he leaves with nothing more than a command for a droid to clean up the mess, his subordinates quake in fear as he passes, shrinking away with the expectation that their once-loyal leader will strike them too.

Some of the more devoted officers ask Kylo for help. ‘ _This isn’t our General’,_ they say but Kylo doesn’t reply to any of them, knowing better than all of them that the man who wears the General’s skin is _not_ Armitage Hux.

Even as he sits in deep meditation, his back resting against the shrine that holds Vader’s helmet, Kylo can’t convene his thoughts into anything remotely coherent but instead fixates on Hux’s presence in the next room, finding that the General is still awake at this late hour but that’s as far as Kylo’s investigation can go. Hux’s mind is just a flurry of unintelligible white noise, making Kylo flinch away in pain as he tries to latch onto Hux’s mind and find the source of his newfound power. He rubs his eyes, tired and sore, feeling as though there’s a barrier around Hux’s mind that’s preventing him access to the consciousness that he usually latches onto for comfort. He hasn’t even _seen_ Hux since their ‘ _talk’_ four days ago—as though Hux is avoiding him.

“Let me in,” Kylo whispers, eyes scrunched closed as he searches through the Force for an answer, _anything_ , but the Force is strangely elusive. “Let me help him.”

He’s repeated those last four words into the heart of the Force that surrounds him almost every minute of every hour since he rushed to the bridge to find Hux choking the _life_ out of a subordinate, hoping that there’ll be an answer to his problem but there’s nothing. There’s just _darkness,_ and not one that Kylo finds comforting; it’s _impenetrable,_ transcendental, like nothing that Kylo has ever felt before, not even when he was so at one with the dark side that he was able to kill the Master of Ren and take his place. It’s unlike anything that Kylo has heard of, read about or _seen,_ and it surrounds General Hux like a moth to a flame.

There comes a flash in front of his eyes, suddenly, bright and furious. Kylo, almost as though he isn’t in control anymore, is made to sit up straight and alert as a vision floods his senses, encompassing him completely and thrusting him into an unknown plain.

_An Emperor stands above a field of slaughtered bodies, the dead is a mix of his enemies and his own people. Collateral damage, the Emperor laughs, but Kylo knows that Hux can no longer differentiate between friend and foe. They’re all pawns to him, pieces in his game of life and any who seems to stand between him and absolute power is struck down by the lightning that shoots from his palms or the crushing pressure against their hearts that he can conjure with just a thought._

_The Force-immersed Emperor Hux offers his bony, wrinkled hand to Kylo, beckoning him up to his summit to celebrate his final victory but for the first time since they became lovers in this cold and lonely galaxy, Kylo hesitates to take Hux’s hand._

_“Come, Ren.” Hux’s clipped tone isn’t there anymore, dominated by a dark timbre that only comes with being drowned in the dark side. His complexion is marred with partially-transparent black, vein-like lines, climbing up his face and looking as though he’s being polluted from the inside. It’s chilling to see, to gaze upon one’s love and find them unrecognisable. Kylo’s heart breaks._

_The man atop the victorious headland isn’t the man whom Kylo loves._

_The corrupt Emperor frowns, sensing Kylo’s rejection and uncertainty. Black sludge suddenly rises from the ground and consumes the bottom half of Hux's body, rippling as though the thick liquid has a mind of its own. He raises his withered hands to the skies and summons deathly lightning to strike down the last obstacle that stands between him and the power that has contaminated Hux’s mind like a parasite—_

Kylo cries out before the lightning hits him but finds that he’s lying on the floor now, huddled against Vader’s shrine and shivering as though he _has_ been electrocuted. He curses in _Huttese_ under his breath as he composes himself and sits up, finding that he can’t quell his shaking hands—maybe not a result of the lightning.

That _word_ echoes inside of his mind: _parasite._

It falls into place slowly, _unwillingly,_ as though Kylo wishes that he were wrong. He rests his head against the shrine and tries but fails to control his breathing, still feeling as though he’s staring up at the unknown entity on the hill who’s wearing the skin of his lover. The image haunts him even when he closes his eyes and stands up to reach for his robe to cover his bare chest, tying it tightly around himself as though wanting comfort from the horrors that remain at the forefront of his psyche.

Only when there comes two short and sharp knocks on the door does Kylo snap out of his mind.

“Enter,” he commands. The person on the other side obeys—and Kylo’s nightmare comes into his reality.

In the doorway stands General Hux, a shadow of his former self. His pale skin is almost grey, haggard and dull-looking. Instead of his fiery red hair being slicked back with clumps of gel, it’s left to bounce free of its own accord yet it’s no longer red in colour. Now bleached blonde and unnatural, the thing that made Hux stand out amongst crowds of commonplace blonde and brown-haired people is gone. Even his stature seems different, no longer standing tall and proud but with his shoulders hunched and his knees turned inwards as though he simply doesn’t have the strength to hold himself up anymore. And as much as the figure before him frightens him to his core, Kylo can’t draw his gaze away from the eerie yellow glare of Hux’s eyes.

 _Sith_ eyes.

“The Supreme Leader has summoned us, Ren,” Hux says, voice hoarse, making Kylo suppress a shiver. “It is time.”

“ _Hux,_ ” Kylo exhales, stepping closer to his love and reaching out to touch his ashen cheek, alarmed at how cold Hux’s skin in beneath his palm. “What’s happening to you?”

“My _power,_ ” Hux smiles devilishly. “It’s making me stronger, strong enough for us to _kill_ Snoke. It’s a gift.”

“It’s a _parasite._ ” Whilst talking, Kylo quietly probes Hux’s mind but nothing returns, just the same unintelligible noise and the same dark blockade that's drenched in black sludge. “It’s killing you, Hux. Look at yourself.”

Hux recoils as though physically hurt by Kylo’s words, scowling at him.

“ _Parasite?”_ Hux’s tone of voice darkens. “Is the _great_ Kylo Ren jealous that he is no longer the most powerful Force-wielder in the Order?”

“The more you use your _‘gifts’,_ the weaker you become.” Kylo just about manages to catch Hux as he stumbles forward, holding the thin, trembling General snugly against his chest. It’s been too long since Kylo has held Hux like this; so unwilling to let go of him.

“I’m _stronger_ than I’ve ever been.”

“You can barely _stand._ Armitage—”

“ _Don’t_ call me that,” Hux pushes out of Kylo’s arms, slapping his hand away when the Knight reaches for him again. “Armitage was _weak_ and _foolish._ I’m better than him. Stronger.”

“This isn’t _you,_ Hux. I _always_ call you by your first name. This is the parasite talking. _My Hux_ would never—”

Hux yells, “I have never been more like myself! My mind is clearer than it ever has been before. And if you aren’t _with_ me—”

“—Then I’m against you,” Kylo finishes, defeated. “I know, Hux. And you know that I’m always with you.”

Hux’s yellow eyes burrow into Kylo’s skull, unnaturally so, as he tries to control his weakening body to stand upright but his knees remain like jelly, Kylo can tell. The General runs his hands through his blonde hair, sighing with his eyes closed as though trying to compose himself before he turns to leave Kylo’s chambers, taking his _gifts_ with him.

The Force around Kylo stirs quietly, edging out of the shadows like a scared, little critter, so frightened and alarmed that it jolts back into hiding the very moment that it reaches Kylo’s fingertips, making him feel electricity at the palm of the hand that touched Hux’s face. The natural energy that surrounds everything in the galaxy and binds it has become a static sound at the very touch of something that interacted with the dark being that _is_ now Armitage Hux. Kylo bites his lip, looking down at his hand and feeling his instincts set alight with dread.

The Force is _afraid._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _  
>  **p a r a s i t e**   
>  _
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	3. Treatment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Extra warnings here** : Descriptions of death, of corpses, of corruption of the mind. Please mind your triggers!
> 
> Otherwise, enjoy!

Snoke is waiting in eerie stillness when Kylo finally arrives in the meeting chamber. Shocked to see his Master in the flesh, Kylo falls to one knee as soon as he’s within his gaze, dropping his masked head in the form of a bow but manages to study the third party in the room. Hux is already there, facing away from the door but Kylo doesn’t have to see his face to know what his beloved General is hiding his pain. His greatcoat fails to hide his hunched and shaking stance as though a great weight is crushing his shoulders so much that he can barely stand. The Force is a dark cloud surrounding him, a deep mist that threatens to become impenetrable; Kylo swallows hard.

“You are surprised to see me, Kylo Ren,” the old creature says. He has his back to his two pawns, staring out of the grand viewport, letting his golden cloak shine in the light of the passing stars.

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” Kylo answers, head still bowed. “I didn’t expect to see you in person.”

Snoke chuckles lowly, “I needed to see for myself if the disturbance in the Force was true.” For a moment, he turns his head to glance over his shoulder. “Come closer, Kylo.”

The Knight obeys, standing and walking hesitantly to where Hux is, halting beside him and hoping that his own shaky presence in the Force doesn’t betray his worry, keeping his head bowed just in case. He glances at Hux but his bleached-blonde hair is obscuring Kylo’s view of his face.

“Supreme Leader—” Kylo begins, wanting a chance to speak before Hux does.

“Silence, apprentice. You will speak only when spoken to.”

“Yes, Master.” Kylo curses silently, frowning to himself behind the privacy of his mask. He won’t get another chance to try to explain Hux’s dire situation before the General himself begins lecturing them all on his _wondrous gift._

But there’s something odd about Snoke’s voice that Kylo notices now, monotone and dry, lacking in its usual sharpness that cuts Kylo deep. Even his stance is strange, completely upright when the tall creature is usually stooped a little as a result of his old age and fragile body. He looks unnatural.

“There has been a great disturbance in the Force. I have traced it back here to you, General Hux.” Kylo tilts his head to the side but keeping it bowed, looking back to Snoke when he sees that Hux’s expression is completely unreadable. Snoke continues, “And it is plain to see that your new appearance is a result of that.”

“Yes,” Hux replies through smirking lips.

“Intriguing. It would seem that my poor treatment of you in the past has been wrong, General. I underestimated you.”

“Oh, _everyone does,”_ Hux snaps _. “_ But it is too late, Snoke. Your mistakes will cost you dearly.”

Kylo keeps his gaze locked on the ground but his senses remain as alert as ever, having been under Snoke’s tutorage for long enough to know that he won’t tolerate being spoken to like that by a mere officer. The Knight’s fists clench by his sides and hold the Force ready at his fingertips to interfere when the Supreme Leader moves to strike Hux down for talking so disrespectfully.

But _then—_

“Have mercy, General. I was not aware of your greatness until now—!”

Kylo’s head shoots up, confused and stunned by Snoke’s sudden _begging._ The creature has likely never begged for anything in his life yet he’s so afraid of the consequences at Hux’s hand that he wants _mercy_? It’s so unlike him, so against everything Kylo thought about Snoke. _No_ , Kylo shivers. This isn’t Snoke; that much becomes clear when he hears Hux’s voice saying the exact words that Snoke is saying, manipulating the Supreme Leader like a ventriloquist would its puppet, feeding words into an empty mind to repeat.

“You are strong, General Hux, so much stronger than I thought. I was wrong about you, and that is why I want you to kill me,” Hux says and Snoke repeats in his monotone voice. The General lifts his hand, twisting it eerily to make his puppet turn around and face them—and Kylo has never seen his master so horrifyingly idle. His shoulders hunch up as though being held by invisible strings, the toes of his shoes barely touching the ground beneath him. That vile mouth that usually spits so much venom hangs slack as it waits for words to be given to it by its puppet master, who stand grinning at his captive.

And with each moment that Hux keeps control over Snoke’s mind and body, the parasite feasts on more of its host’s life: Kylo is _losing_ Hux.

“Hux!” Kylo gasps, reaching to unclasp his helmet and toss it to the side, stepping in front of Hux to hold him by the shoulders, almost paralysed with fear at the sight of Hux’s sulfuric-yellow eyes. “This isn’t you!”

“You want him dead too, Ren,” Hux says, voice almost unrecognisable through the dark timbre that now consumes him. “Don’t deny it.”

“I won’t deny it,” Kylo says and shaking his head, half-wanting the pleasure of killing the old creature himself but he doesn’t comment on that. “But not like this, not if it means that you die too. Come back, Hux. Let go of this power. Come back to me.”

And for the briefest moment, Kylo swears that he sees a familiar green hue in his eyes that shines with fear and confusion for a moment before it passes like an inevitable shadow, bringing darkness home again in the form of horrid yellow irises.

“This power is _mine,”_ Hux growls, lifting his hand. Behind him, Kylo hears choking sounds, turning to see Snoke hoisted in the air, alertness back in his eyes. “I’m finally _someone!_ I’m stronger than _all_ of you! No one is going to take this from me! _No one!_ ”

“No!” The room is plunged into darkness, lights bursting with the ferocity of Hux’s anger, but the emergency lighting does nothing to help as it flickers on and bathes the scene in a low, red glow.

“ _C-cur! I **gave** you—ggggkkkkkkk!” _Snoke spits, back in his own mind for only a moment before he’s lifted high into the air with his arms spread wide, his body wracked with horrifying shakes as though being electrocuted. The light from the viewport’s stars outlines his silhouette almost poetically, shrouding his body in the darkness that he’s lured many a soul into, including Kylo’s.

Kylo watches in terrified awe as Hux clenches his fist as tight as he can manage, choking the life from Snoke’s lungs, before spreading his fingers wide open—igniting a fire deep within Snoke’s rotten soul.

“… _What?”_ Kylo finds himself unable to look away from the bright red flames that now burns his former master from the inside out, spreading to the air around him like it’s killing every fibre of his body, even that which extends to the living Force; Hux isn’t just destroying Snoke’s body, he’s annihilating everything that encompasses him like a deadly _exorcism,_ eliminating all traces of a soul until he’s nothing but a pile of smouldering bones on the floor, so wrecked that even the Force wouldn’t find it recognisable to extract a ghost from it.

In the red glow of the back-up lights, the scene seems maddening. Kylo’s breath comes in heavy, stressed heaves, panicked as he stares at what remains of Snoke’s body but more unnerved by the monster who brought about his death.

“That felt…” Hux inhales as though smelling the galaxy’s finest drug. “ _Incredible._ ”

Kylo turns to look at him though doesn’t recognise him. The man before him has become so submerged in the dark side that he looks more like a ghost; his skin has turned completely grey, sunken around his eyes and cheekbones. A pulsing red outlines his yellow eyes now as they study his own gloved hands as though they’ve just performed a miracle, clearly in awe of his own strength _._ _His complexion is marred with partially-transparent black, vein-like lines, climbing up his face and looking as though he’s being polluted from the inside._

Kylo finds the whole thing chilling for more than one reason; this is the Hux from his vision, so corrupt and rotten that there’s nothing left of his true self, all tainted by whatever parasite is killing him. All Kylo can do is take a step back whilst keeping his gaze locked on Hux, fearing that he may be next to suffer the same horrifying fate as Snoke.

“But wait,” Hux says, frowning. “I sense something, something in you, Kylo. You aren’t _happy._ ”

“Let him go,” Kylo grits his teeth, tears spilling from his eyes. “Give him back to me.”

“What _are_ you blubbering about, Ren? It’s _me._ ” Hux grins like a hungry vampire and opens his arms wide as though beckoning Kylo in for a hug. “I’ve just destroyed your _abuser._ That creature caused you so much pain and sorrow, and now he’s gone.”

“And you’ve lost yourself in doing so. You’re not _my_ Armitage.”

“That isn’t my _name!”_

“Then what _is_ your name?” Kylo shouts, feeling his powers wanting to take flight against the enemy in front of him. “I should just call you _parasite._ ”

“I am _General Hux,_ Starkiller!”

“Snoke said something,” Kylo recalls. “Before you destroyed him. He said ‘ _I gave you’._ Gave you what, Hux? What did he do to you?”

“ _This_ is my destiny, Ren. No one has done _anything._ This is me,” Hux stands as tall as he can manage, rolling his shoulders and staring with raw anger at Kylo. His fingers twitch in anticipation, and Kylo can see through the Force that there’s electricity crackling around them. “And if you’re not with me, then you’re against me.”

“I’m with you, Hux. _Always,_ ” Kylo’s voice quivers with emotion, remembering uttering those words to Hux only a few days ago within the safety of his chambers; that seems so long ago now. “You know that. I don’t want to hurt you. I want to help you.”

Hux smirks but shakes his head. He raises his hand, letting his smile fall away into a horrid scowl, “Wrong answer.”

A high-pitched screech, like a scream, pierces through the air as Hux throws a ball of Force-energy towards Kylo, but the Knight is ready. He’s able to dodge its trajectory with a leap off to the side whilst stretching his hand out summoning his own powers to push so deeply into Hux’s mind that it hurts both of them—more so Hux because he isn’t consenting, but this must be done. Already, Kylo can feel that Hux is slipping so far away from him that it may be too late but even if this kills him, he’s got to _try_ to save Hux.

“Get out!” Hux shouts, stomping his foot to hold his ground as he throws what he can of his untrained powers at his enemy, striking Kylo but unable to knock him down. “ _Get out!”_

Kylo imagines a barrier around himself, hoping to hold off Hux’s attacks for just a few moments whilst time slows down as he reaches the barrier of Hux’s mind, the layers of black ooze that once seemed impenetrable but now, Kylo has nothing left to lose. He grits his teeth, stretching his fingers wide to push through the thick oil-like substance that covers Hux’s mind, drowning every piece of consciousness and replacing it with its own programming.

Everything that makes up the mind of Armitage Hux has been heightened; his need to prove himself, his desire for power and control, his _desperation_ to be remembered for something. The parasite is feeding those fantasies and whispering into his Force-null mind about how he _deserves_ this power that it is _giving_ him—

“ _No! Get out, Kylo Ren! He’s **mine!”**_

Kylo jolts, breaking through the barrier of goo to see it from the inside of Hux’s mind. His own image manifests in there, finding himself in a large room where the dark sludge covers the four walls from ceiling to floor. Everything is decaying and distorted, so foul that there’s hardly any of Armitage left in here, just thoughts that he believes are his own but aren’t but his memories remain his own, though only sad and angry ones remain at the forefront of his mind, the rest are drowned in sludge. But as Kylo delves deeper, searching for answers, everything falls into place once he finds the right thought: the parasite is a living creature, a tiny worm that is still living somewhere under Hux’s once-beautifully porcelain skin, contaminating his mind into thinking that this is part of him, that this _infection_ is his right, that its thoughts are his thoughts.

_“Mine….Mine.”_

Still in the dark room of Hux’s corrupted mind, Kylo spins around and finds that the sludge at his feet is rising up to take the form of a thick, hulking man, completely faceless but Kylo knows that it’s angry.

“He isn’t yours,” Kylo snarls. “I’m taking him.”

“ _He is too infected,_ ” the ooze-man growls in an inhuman voice. “ _Armitage is gone._ ”

“Not if _I_ have anything to say about it!”

Kylo raises his hands in the air and summons everything he has, scrunching his eyes closed when pain begins to sprout from deep inside of his skull. This could kill him or render him catatonic for the rest of his life but none of that concerns him or scares him, not when Hux’s life is on the line. There’s still a little bit of Armitage left; Kylo can feel it in the memories, still alive underneath the layers of the black goo caused by the parasite.

“ _No! No!”_ The ooze-man roars like a feral beast and unleashes an onslaught of its essence onto Kylo, making its brethren submerge the attacking Knight in sludge, climbing his legs and coating him, wanting to corrupt him. _“Join us!”_

Kylo grunts, ignoring the parasite’s laughter and the horrible feeling that the creeping ooze is causing. He focusses on freeing Hux’s mind from its captor, purifying his thoughts and memories back to what they once were and imagining his lover being happy once again.

“Don’t give up, Armitage,” Kylo strains, but is elated when a tiny spot of light appears on the ceiling above him as the surrounding sludge burns and fizzes away, filling him with hope, however foolish it may be. The room—Hux’s mind—can be _saved._ “Don’t leave me.”

By now, the thick goo controlled by the parasite-man has risen past Kylo’s chest, burning as it touches the bare flesh of his neck, but he doesn’t falter. He stands tall against the impossible monster and breaks out into a yell as more of the sludge above him jolts and contorts as though in pain, dissolving into nothingness and revealing more of the light from underneath, _Armitage’s light._ Kylo can feel the familiar warmth of his lover’s presence breaking through, tiny flitters in the Force—

_Blackness. Kylo’s own yell, an inhuman screech of defeat._

Becoming aware of his own heavy breathing all of a sudden, Kylo opens his eyes and finds himself back in the real world, in his own realm instead of a manifested room of Hux’s mind. The chamber is still bathed in red emergency lighting, Snoke’s body still lies unmoving and mangled on the floor behind him.

And Hux…

Kylo tries to say his name—his first name—but all that comes out is an exhausted puff of breath, unable to conjure strength to walk to his beloved, _his_ Hux; his skin may be unusually pale but it isn’t grey or contaminated with black vein-like lines anymore, and his shining green eyes have never looked brighter underneath his half-closed eyelids, but they close slowly as Hux collapses, faints, buckling backwards like a puppet with his strings suddenly cut. Kylo reaches out to catch him but falls over himself, so exhausted and dizzy and in pain that he can’t fight the looming darkness of unconsciousness when it begins to creep into his vision.

But he still reaches out, able to touch Hux’s boot from where they’ve both landed on the floor, and Kylo curls his weak fingers around Hux’s ankle, squeezing, before allowing the familiar blackness of pain-free oblivion take over his mind. He doesn’t know what state Hux is in but he’s _alive,_ they both are.

Kylo doesn’t see the tiny worm-like creature wriggle out of Hux’s ear, letting out a tiny, high-pitched scream as it writhes in agony before shrivelling into nothing— _but is it too late?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are things going to be okay? Is Hux going to remember any of this? What if he doesn't wake up? Is Kylo ever going to be able to hold his beloved Armitage ever again? Why am I asking you all these questions? Hehe! Hopefully this wasn't too angsty for you, I just love Hux in peril and Kylo protecting him!
> 
> Thank you so much again to @heyitsemeraldorbs for their support and love. It means so much! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! My tumblr is [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


	4. Aftercare

For a brief moment upon waking, Kylo thinks that he’s dead. The Force is so calm and so peaceful around him, flowing through his body and mind like the tiny trickle of a purified river, so serene and soothing that it couldn’t possibly be of the living realm but it is, because the quiet stream is flowing to another mind, another consciousness, one that Kylo has sought comfort form so many times before but it’s never been so reactive before: Hux’s presence in the Force is like a lighthouse in a storm, one that no Force null’s should be. But with recent events still painfully fresh in Kylo’s memories, having Hux’s mind so warm and welcoming is nothing but a relief.

He opens his eyes slowly, thankful that the overhead lights are dull enough for his aching head to withstand.

_Medbay,_ Kylo deduces. Either that, or his Force-afterlife is that of the _Finalizer’s_ medical wing.

No. He’s most certainly in one of the private rooms of medbay; the white walls and sterile smell are unmistakable, as is that of the two droids that approach his bed when he sits up.

“ _Master Ren,”_ the round floating droid chirps whilst scanning his vitals. “ _You must rest.”_

Kylo ignores it; he ignores everything about his sore body as he kicks his blankets off and looks around the room worriedly.

“Where’s Hux?”

The other droid, a humanoid 2-1B medical droid, answers in its deep voice, “ _General Hux is resting in another room, sir.”_

“Is he alright?” Kylo doesn’t mean to sound so desperate but he _is._ “Is he safe?”

“ _His condition is stable but he is yet to wake. We are monitoring his condition very closely. Master Ren, I must insist that you rest. You are exhausted and dehydrated.”_

_“_ I’ll rest later,” Kylo stands and tears off the sticky patches from his chest that hold wires to him, unbothered that he’s going to look for Hux wearing nothing but a pair of baggy, regulation medbay pants. “I have to see him.”

It would seem as though even the droids know better than argue with Kylo when he’s certain on something so they let him go without another word, watching silently as he leaves the safety of his medical room to go out into the corridor and he’s very thankful that there are only droids around him in the private wing; it means that he doesn’t have to leer intimidatingly at officers who may stare at him. All he can focus on is the quiet thrum of Hux’s life through the Force—

Kylo stops, frowning as he passes a mirrored window into one of the other private rooms when something odd catches his eye. He steps back to study himself. At the very front of his hair, a thick, white streak takes pride of place; a significant portion of his once-black hair now etched in pure white all the way from root to tip. He touches it gingerly, hating it, but he’s got much bigger problems to focus on at the moment; his love’s health.

Sighing and tucking the section of hair behind one ear, Kylo walks along the corridor on trembling legs but never breaks his stride, too overcome with worry for Hux’s safety to worry about his own. He soon reaches the only other occupied room in the wing and peers through the small, round window in the door to see inside. The room is dully lit just like Kylo’s was, but there seems to be more flashing lights of medical machinery around the prone, pale figure in the bed.

‘ _Go. He needs you,’_ the Force whispers to him in a voice that sounds a lot like Hux’s, and Kylo swears that he feels something give him a gentle push.

He obeys, entering hesitantly despite wanting to see Hux more than anything in the galaxy, too worried that the parasite has caused irreparable damage to him. True to the droid’s word, Hux isn’t awake. He lies unnervingly still in the bed with a breathing mask over his mouth and nose with wires attached to his bare chest that lead up to the half a dozen machines mounted on the wall behind his bed, all showing steady life-signs. His once-ginger hair is still the same bleached-blonde colour that came with the corruption from the dark side, but it’s fluffed up as though freshly dried and resting like a halo around him on his white pillow. Hux has always been thin and pale but Kylo is sure that his ribs have never been so visible before.

The parasite incident is still shrouded in mystery.

Kylo sits on the floor beside Hux’s bed, much too afraid of hurting him if he were to sit on the bed. The white blanket is tucked under the General’s thin arms so Kylo reaches to feel Hux’s fingers, his cold skin against his own warmth. Threading them together, Kylo stares at Hux’s face and wills his eyes to open, hoping that they’ll be shining green instead of horrifyingly yellow, though the latter will forever haunt Kylo’s mind. He’d come _so damn close_ to losing Hux to the darkness of the parasite that Kylo was willing to give everything he had left if it meant saving him. Death could have easily taken them both.

What if, next time, Kylo isn’t strong enough to save Hux? Isn’t in inevitable that something else will seek to harm Hux? What if Kylo isn’t _there_ to help him? No, he daren’t think of what could have happened, or what _could_ happen in the future; Hux needs him _now,_ and that is enough of a mission for the time being.

Snoke’s final words come back to Kylo’s mind in faint, sharp echoes; ‘ _Cur! I gave you—!’_ spat in the creature’s usual venomous tone before he choked around the pressure of Hux’s incredible power and then perished. This is the first time that Kylo has processed his master’s death—his _abuser’s_ death. Perhaps that’s why the Force is so serene around him; Snoke’s dark influence over his mind is no longer there hanging over him like a bloody scythe waiting to swing just as it has been ever since Kylo can remember.

Snoke’s last words strike Kylo as odd; in the end, did Snoke turn his dark ministrations to Hux instead of focussing on his apprentice? What did he _give_ Hux exactly? Only Hux has the answers now, and as Kylo leans his head against the mattress and stares up at his resting love, he wonders if he’ll ever get to know.

|………|

The room is still exactly the same as it was when Kylo fell asleep hours ago, he finds, when he wakes up—all except for the hand that he was holding onto tightly. It’s gone.

A ragged breathing sound fills the otherwise quiet room, making Kylo bolt upright to check on Hux and finds that he’s coming into wakefulness, trying with weak fingers to pull the breathing mask from his mouth.

“Hey,” Kylo jumps up to help, fighting the urge to take Hux into his arms in sheer relief that he isn’t going to be comatose forever but resists, sensing the steadily rising panic in Hux’s mind. He manages to unclasp the mask with ease, pulling it away and leaving it to one side so that he can wholly see his love’s face and _hopes_ that being infected hasn’t left any scars on him. Whilst there’s no colour in his cheeks, Hux’s pale skin is a welcomed sight as opposed to the ashy grey complexion that he wore only hours ago. He simply looks tired and weary, nothing that rest and some pain meds won’t solve. And underneath his fluttering eyelids are a pair of green eyes that make Kylo’s heart soar.

_“S-sss…”_ The General tries to speak but struggles with his hoarse throat, eyes filling with tears.

“No, no. Shhh. Save your energy, Hux,” Kylo sits beside him on the bed, reaching to cup Hux’s pale cheeks in his hands. He leans in, wanting to kiss him but refrains in the fear that it’ll be too much for his recovering General. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

Absently, Kylo takes note of the way the Force is moving around Hux; it’s flowing through him like it would a Jedi or a Sith instead of around him like it should do with a Force-null. Whilst the entity connects everything together, Kylo can sense other Force-sensitives like him by looking at the way the Force interacts with the person—and how it’s interacting with Armitage Hux is not how it usually does, as though something in him has changed but for the good this time, not in the darkness of a parasite.

“S-sorry,” Hux whispers with his breaking voice. His weak, trembling hands cover Kylo’s where they rest on his cheeks, holding onto them as tightly as he can manage. “I’m sorry, Ren. I’m sorry. I’m sorry—”

“Armitage.” Kylo smiles softly, unable to resist placing a kiss on Hux’s forehead. “Calm down. You’re still healing.”

Hux sighs, closing his eyes and biting his lip, “It’s _gone,_ Ren. I can’t hear it anymore.”

“It was a parasite, Hux.” Kylo flinches as he recalls the black ooze and how it covered everything in Hux’s mind, tainting him with its power and drawing his life out of him for its own use. He shivers. “It was in your mind, controlling you. Do you remember?”

“I…” Hux shifts in the bed, frowning. He sits up with Kylo’s aid, plumping the pillows behind him so he’s able to rest. The General rubs his eyes and blinks hard, shaking his head but in disbelief, not in denial. “I remember everything. Oh, Ren. I’m so sorry.”

“Stop saying that, Armitage. You haven’t done anything worth apologising for.”

“I-I could have killed you.”

“But you didn’t,” Kylo kisses him again. “I’m here.”

Hux’s gaze looks to the streak of white that dangles in the curtain of dark hair in front of Kylo’s face, reaching out to it and brushing his fingers through it whilst Kylo, too, thinks about how terrible it must look.

“I caused this,” Hux says, tucking the hair behind Kylo’s ear.

“It’s just overexertion,” Kylo takes hold of Hux’s wrist and pulls it away. “It’s nothing.”

The tears spill from Hux’s eyes as he blinks, so Kylo takes it upon himself to sweep his General into his arms, holding him tightly and imagining them in a protective, impenetrable sphere, surrounded by the Force, emanating from both of them. Hux buries his face into Kylo’s bare shoulder and allows his tears to keep falling, and Kylo keeps on holding him and rocking him and kissing him. He’ll stay like this until the end of time if he must, if Hux asked him to.

“I remember Snoke,” Hux says, sniffling, pulling away from the embrace so Kylo may see his face. He’s frowning as though pushing through memories to try to find the right one. “I remember killing him.”

“He said something to you before he died,” Kylo says.

“He did this, Ren. He did this to me.”

“How?”

“He called for me one night,” Hux recalls, staring off into the distance. “Just me. He was there, in the flesh, in the holochamber with his guards. I couldn’t fight them.”

“They attacked you?”

“No. They wrestled me to the ground and held me there whilst Snoke went on and on about—Oh, _gods._ ”

“What, Hux? What happened?”

Hux swallows hard, “It’s _revolting._ I remember him telling me that I was his test subject, that I was the Force-null he needed to complete his experiment.”

Kylo takes hold of Hux’s trembling hands. Part of him wishes that the old creature was still alive so that Kylo could torture him for causing Hux such agony.

Hux goes on, “ _Korriban._ I remember him talking about Korriban. Some of his aides had found something there, a creature capable of draining the life from its host as it poisoned their minds with the Force—and Snoke wanted to try it on a Force-null.”

“A parasite.”

“It was a _worm,_ Ren. A live, wriggling _worm._ They held me down and forced it into my ear— _oh, hells._ It made me _forget_ , it made me think that the powers were my own.”

“It’s over now, Hux,” Kylo lifts one of Hux’s hands to his lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles. “I was in your mind. It’s gone, I won’t let anything hurt you ever again.”

“I felt you. I felt you inside of my head,” Hux says, looking down to where Kylo is holding onto his hands. “I…can still feel you now.”

“Through the Force?”

“I…I think so,” Hux says. “Can’t you feel _me_?”

“I can always feel you but,” Kylo nods, smiling. “You’re closer.”

“Oh. I still feel a little strange, like I can see things clearer now.”

Kylo wonders something for a moment, cocking his head curiously, reaching out to the Force around them and finding that Hux is right; their connection now goes _both_ ways instead of one. Kylo’s mind is linked to Hux’s mind, and vice versa—two, in one. He touches Hux’s temple gingerly and reads him, finding a tiny spark of Force energy inside of his mind, newborn and untamed but present nonetheless. It’s in his soul, in his heart. Hux is able to sense the Force now, acutely but _sensitive_ nonetheless.

“You can feel the Force. Like me,” Kylo says, pulling his hand from Hux’s temple.

“I can?”

“That’s what your strange feeling is. I can sense it inside you. It’s new. Don’t be afraid of it,” Kylo says, catching Hux looking at his palm and sensing his doubt. “I’m with you, Armitage. Always.”

Hux looks up, clenching his fist softly, “Thank you, Kylo.”

“It must be an effect of having the parasite in your head,” Kylo assumes.

“Or you,” Hux says softly. “It feels like _you._ ”

“Me?”

Hux sniffles, using his wrist to wipe his wet cheeks, “It doesn’t feel like a bad thing, so it can’t be that horrid thing that Snoke put there, can it? I feel closer to you, Ren. So maybe…maybe you left something behind when you saved me?”

Kylo pouts, confused. It’s possible, he supposes; the Force is a mysterious entity, and there can be no denying that he feels closer to Hux too, tightly connected to each other through the Force’s power, too, as well as their physical bodies. Maybe, Kylo can help Hux train himself to use his newfound Force sensitivity to keep in better contact with him, like their own personal comm frequency inside their minds like the strongest of Force bonds.

“Are you alright?” Kylo asks, taking Hux back into his arms.

“Yes,” Hux replies. “I think I will be. As long as you promise to keep that bit of white hair. I like it.”

“I don’t,” Kylo chuckles. “But it’s nothing compared to yours.”

“Mine?” Hux frowns.

“Yes. Uh, sorry, Hux. You’re not ginger anymore.”

The General’s hair isn’t long enough for him to see it when he tries to pull it into view but Kylo is there to levitate a shiny, metallic tray over from the sideboard and into his hands, holding it up so Hux can see himself, and his reaction is immediate.

“Oh _my._ ” Hux threads both of his hands through his soft, blonde hair, pulling at it and separating it to look for any trace of the ginger that he’s so well known for but finds none.

“I’m sure it’ll turn back,” Kylo says, unsure but well-meaning. “I hope it will.”

“I’m not sure,” Hux says, fluffing it into style. “My mother was blonde. It makes me look a little bit more like her and less like my father.”

Kylo stays quiet, just watching Hux’s lips turn into a soft smile as he studies his reflection from different angles, looking more like himself despite missing his most definable feature.

Around them, the Force flows peacefully, intertwining and linking them together in ways that neither of them can see nor feel yet. Feeling closer than ever to Hux, Kylo sighs contently.

He is with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END. ❤️
> 
> I really hope you liked it! And thank you so much to [@heyitsemeraldorbs](http://http://heyitsemeraldorbs.tumblr.com/) for being patient and supportive like always. Lot of love! ❤️
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! It really means a lot!! Find me on tumblr at [solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


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